It's very helpful indeed, thank you.
I still struggle getting my mind around this, however. That our perceptions of others is largely based upon our own mental states, I understand, of course; also that previous experiences provide the data upon which we base our impressions of others. But is there no deeper basis for our belief, wrong-headed though it may be, of others' individuality?
Think for a moment of a loved one, someone in your family or a close friend. What words or adjectives describe them? Now, that we derive these words, descriptors from our experiences of them is self-evident, likewise that this picture will be partly derived from our own mental qualities (every man is a thief to a thief, and so on); but are personalities, individuality, nothing more than this? I see I'm repeating myself, but I want to be clear. So let me try one more:
Are the quite delightful differences of, say, Yuttadhammo Bikkhu, Ajahn Sumedho, Bikkhu Bodhi and other teachers of the Dhamma only explainable by saying they are just a series of impressions given to our minds, or is there some deeper basis to it than that?
Again, thank you so much for helping me understand this!